League

Ewood Park
Spectators: 7944 (Terracing: 5959, Seating: 1827, VIP seats: 158) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Alan Shearer made the kick off which started today's match. Blackburn Rovers FC were furious when Severin Grashev was red carded, 9 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. After a rather tough play, Blackburn Rovers FC's Severin Grashev got a free kick in the 9th minute. Lilko Savchev struck a weak shot in the 11th minute. Brad Friedel didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Alika. 12 minutes into the game, Zlatko Topalov was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Alika's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Blackburn Rovers FC the free kick. After a rather tough play, Alika's Zlatko Topalov got a free kick in the 13th minute. Minko Roshkev recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Alan Shearer got free with Belcho Vetov in the 19th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 27 minutes into the match, Alika's goal looked a bit too open when Jason Roberts came free, but Belcho Vetov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After some careless play in the Alika defense, Alan Shearer kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Belcho Vetov. The Alika fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Belcho Vetov should have stopped the shot. If Jason Roberts had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 37 played minutes Alika got a freekick which was hit by Gancho Dobriyanov. The supporters of Alika booed when Blackburn Rovers FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 39 match minutes in a wonderful position. Tzvetoslav Gaydarov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Yanaki Borov's late challenge caught a Blackburn Rovers FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Yanaki Borov helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Alika's Yanaki Borov got a free kick in the 42nd minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 47th minute, Zlatko Topalov managed to get in a good position for a shot. Alika's supporters rose to their feet, but Zlatko Topalov was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Brad Friedel breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick.

In the 52nd minute of the match, Lilko Savchev got a very nice opportunity to score, but Brad Friedel was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. During the 53rd minute of the match Zlatko Topalov completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Zlatko Topalov a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alan Shearer in the 57th minute of play forced Alika's goalkeeper Belcho Vetov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 61 minutes of play Alika's Yanaki Borov was too eager in his attempt to stop his opponent and brought him down. With that he got his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. Yanaki Borov hit a great freekick 61 minutes into the match. Alan Shearer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 70th minute. Belcho Vetov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a rather tough play, Alika's Velizar Sergiev got a free kick in the 71st minute. In the 73rd match minute, Alika was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Botyo Kadev to maneuver through the defense. The audience was convinced that Jason Roberts's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Belcho Vetov was relentless in the 75th minute of the game. Lilko Savchev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. A collision led to Alika getting a freekick after 77 minutes play. Rosen Ginchev hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lilko Savchev in the 84th minute of play forced Blackburn Rovers FC's goalkeeper Brad Friedel to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Velizar Sergiev received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 85th minute. Brad Friedel tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Velizar Sergiev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 90th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Blackburn Rovers FC's Minko Roshkev got a free kick in the 92nd minute. Many of Alika's supporters were seen to leave the ground early as it became clear their team was going to lose. Alika may have spent more time on the ball, but Blackburn Rovers FC were more willing to take their chances and they walked away with the win.